


The Big Bad Hunter and the Damsel in Distress

by imagineteamfreewill



Series: The Switch [14]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Corpses, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Snakes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-02-26 19:25:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23968927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imagineteamfreewill/pseuds/imagineteamfreewill
Summary: The reader and Sam get into a sticky situation before their return to the bunker.
Relationships: Sam Winchester & You, Sam Winchester/Reader, Sam Winchester/You, reader x sam - Relationship
Series: The Switch [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1339267
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	The Big Bad Hunter and the Damsel in Distress

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted on my tumblr account of the same name on August 21st, 2019.

The abandoned motel had enough empty rooms for you and Sam to have a separate room from Dean and Cas. It was still right beside theirs, and you were pretty sure that they were listening carefully to make sure that Sam remained safe, but it was still nice to have the semblance of privacy.

Sam sat on the edge of the bed in silence, allowing you to clean the dried blood off his skin. His cuts and injuries were healed thanks to Cas’ grace, and by the time you’d gone finished the pack of baby wipes you’d found in a scavenged backpack in the back of the Impala, Sam looked a thousand times better. His hair was still tangled and probably needed to be washed and conditioned, but you weren’t about to complain. Sam was alive, and that was enough to keep you being grateful.

“C’mere,” Sam murmured as you turned to throw away the dirty wipes and the empty package. He grabbed your hand to stop you from moving away and you looked back at him, smiling softly when you saw the happy crinkles at the corners of his eyes.

You let Sam pull you into a hug, ditching the wipes to wrap your arms around him. He pressed his face against your stomach, mumbling against your shirt as you began to run your fingers through his hair to get rid of the tangles.

“What?” you asked.

“I love you.”

Shocked, you looked down at him, your hand still in his hair. Sam was watching you carefully when you met his eyes, and after a pregnant second, you nodded slightly.

“I love you too, Sam.” A small smile tugged up the corner of your lips, and when Sam smiled back, it bloomed into an even bigger one. 

“Good,” Sam answered, pulling you back into a tight hug. You laughed and freed your hand from his hair before hugging him again, letting out a surprised squeal when he turned onto his side and pulled you to lie back on the bed with him.

“Sam!” you laughed. You could feel him smiling into your shoulder as he pulled you to be the little spoon, and you couldn’t help but laugh again when his breath tickled the back of your neck.

“Knock it off,” you grinned, reaching back to swat at him. “That tickles.”

“The big bad hunter’s ticklish?” he teased.

Rolling your eyes, you wiggled until he loosened his arms enough for you to roll over and face him. You propped yourself up with one arm and smiled at him, using your other hand to brush a strand of hair off his face.

“I’m not a big bad hunter, not with you. I’m normal with you,” you told him.

Sam’s eyes lit up with his smile. He pushed himself up off the bed to press his lips to yours, murmuring, “Good. I like it when you’re normal with me.”

“And when I’m a big bad hunter?” you asked, not breaking away from his kiss.

“I like you then, too. I like you just the way you are, Y/N. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

You couldn’t help but grin a little wider at the compliment, and after another short kiss you pulled away to cuddle up against him. Sam scooted with you to lay entirely on the bed, then wrapped his arms around you.

“Get some rest,” he said, his voice soft. “I’ll keep first watch.”

“You sure?” You were already yawning as you asked, and Sam chuckled in response, pressing a kiss to the top of your head before smoothing a hand over your hair.

“I’m sure. I’ll wake you up if something happens and you don’t get up on your own.”

Nodding, you held onto Sam a little tighter and closed your eyes, relaxing once more to the steady sound of his breathing. You fell asleep soon after, and slept through the entire night in Sam’s safe arms.

The next morning, Dean and Cas were already waiting for the two of you when you emerged from your room. Neither one of them looked well-rested, and you had the feeling that the only people who’d actually slept the night before were you and Sam.

“We got a lead on those supplies for the warding,” Dean said, nodding at you. “Mornin’.”

“We’re still going through with that?” you asked as Sam wrapped an arm around your shoulders, pulling you into his side. 

Cas nodded. “We’d rather be safe than sorry.”

“Where are the supplies?” 

“‘Bout an hour north,” Dean answered. “It’ll be worth the detour.”

He dug the car keys out of his pocket and unlocked the doors, glancing around as the four of you climbed into the car—him and Cas in the front seat and you and Sam in the back. Sam sprawled his legs out almost immediately and you found yourself sitting as close to him as possible, despite the fact that the whole backseat was open to the two of you.

“The supplies are being held by some demons,” Cas explained as Dean started the Impala and pulled out of the motel’s empty lot. “There are some humans in hiding nearby that I overheard praying for healing. They have offered us their assistance in return, and the husband has agreed to let me use him as a temporary vessel to get what we need.”

“So we’re putting innocent people in the line of fire to get this stuff?” you asked, sitting up in the seat. You didn’t like the sound of that, but Sam took your hand and squeezed until you looked over at him.

“Cas explained the risks, I’m sure. People are doing this all the time to get what they need. At least this way, they’ll have Cas on their side to help if something goes wrong. Right?”

Sam glanced up at the front seat and Castiel nodded in response. “He’s right, Y/N. I wouldn’t be doing this if they weren’t sure that this was what they wanted to do.”

“There’s an old Walmart across the street from where the demons are hold up,” Dean interrupted, and all three of you looked at him. “I’ll be nearby in case Cas needs backup, but you and Sam can go see if there’s anything useful that hasn’t already been looted.”

You frowned. “Are you sure that’s safe, Dean? I mean, if something happens...”

“If something happens, you’re there to keep me safe,” Sam said. “I trust you.”

His eyes searched your face and after a few moments of hesitation, you nodded. “I trust you too, Sam.”

Smiling slightly, Sam squeezed your hand. “Then it’s decided. We’ll go check out the Walmart and Dean and Cas will get the supplies.”

* * *

An hour and a half later, you and Sam were walking through the decrepit superstore in search of anything remotely usable. It had been picked over, but you were trying to hold out hope. There had to be at least  _ something _ you could take back.

Sam stuck close behind you as you walked, and you could feel the nervousness radiating off of him. Silently, you glanced back and met his eyes, offering him as much of a reassuring smile as you could. He smiled back and you looked forward again, glancing around to make sure that there was nothing amiss.

“Did you hear that?” Sam whispered, and you paused, listening. Sure enough, a quiet rustle came from the next aisle, followed by a hissing noise. You tensed and lifted your machete, gesturing for Sam to get between you and the empty metal shelves. He moved quickly and you stayed frozen in place. After what seemed like an eternity, the rustling stopped and the store fell silent again.

“Sam Winchester,” a voice boomed, and you flinched. The shelving unit behind you was lifted up and away, and you whirled around, pushing Sam behind you in the process.

“Who are you?” you asked as you tried to get a good look at whatever you were up against. Darkness shrouded the being, and you noticed a moment later that the shadows moved with it. 

“Me? I’m nobody, just like you. Sam, on the other hand, is a somebody, and I could make something of myself with a prize like him,” the creature hissed. It’s voice was strangely snake-like and fear coiled in your belly at the sound of it.

“A prize? Who are you?”

“You ask too many questions,” it answered, and then it lunged.

You saw the shadows coming at you and Sam before you even saw the beast. It was just barely enough warning for you to raise the blade in your hand, and then two long fangs were snapping at you. The monster’s head was shaped like a snake’s, but it phased in and out, as if the shadows themselves were helping to form it. 

“Sam!” you shouted, turning your head to look for him. 

He was sprawled out on the floor, his back propped up against the shelves behind you. The dazed look in his eyes was back, but he didn’t look injured and you figured that he’d probably had the foresight to sit and make himself less of a target. 

The snake hissed when it realized you weren’t paying attention. Its fangs caught the sleeve of your jacket when it snapped its head forward to bite, and almost immediately you were thankful for the thick canvas. It wasn’t much protection compared to some things, but apparently it was enough to keep you from getting a painful cut on your arm.

“Give him up,” the snake said. “Give him to me and I promise that you’ll live.”

“You must be new at this,” you retorted, and the shadowy head snapped forward at you again. “If you think I’m letting you take him from me, you’re an idiot. We only just got Sam back, and I’m not letting anyone or anything hurt him!”

You let out a shout and lunged at the snake, just barely managing to slip past its mouth and drag your blade across its body. It took all your strength to get through the thick trunk with just a machete. The head fell between you and Sam, and you watched in horror as it dissipated into a cloud of smoke which quickly headed towards the main entrance and out the doors.

“A demonic snake,” you muttered to yourself as you watched the rest of the body turn into the same black smoke and fly away. “Who’da thunk?”

Sam groaned from his spot on the floor and you hurried over, dropping your blade beside him as you helped him straighten up into a more comfortable position.

“Are you okay?” you asked.

“I think,” he groaned, rubbing the back of his head. “I hit the shelves pretty hard, but it doesn’t feel like anything’s broken. What happened? What was that thing?” Sam looked over to where the snake had thrown the long, metal shelves and frowned. He met your eyes and immediately opened his mouth to ask if you were okay.

Smiling softly, you leaned in and kissed Sam on the forehead. “I’m okay. I don’t think that thing was as strong as it looked. It was some kind of… demonic snake. It turned into smoke once I cut the head off.”

Sam nodded and let you help him to his feet, then answered as you leaned down to pick up the machete, “We should finish up here before anything else comes, then. Who knows where it ran off and who it’ll tell about us being here.”

“Good plan,” you agreed, gesturing for Sam to follow you towards the discarded shelf. You’d noticed a can rolling away before you’d been able to focus on the snake, and you were pleased to discover a small backpack of food that someone had dropped. The smell of a rotting corpse greeted you when you got close enough to pick up the pack, but Sam didn’t seem as bothered by it as you were when he moved closer to search the body. You grabbed the bag and fixed the straps over your shoulders, watching as Sam pocketed a Swiss Army knife, the man’s wallet, and a gun.

“Any ammo?” you asked.

He shook his head. “We should salt and burn him. I think he might’ve been a hunter.”

“That’ll attract attention, Sam.” You looked anywhere you could but at the man, hoping that Sam would just think you were keeping a close eye out for anymore monsters. In reality, however, you just couldn’t bear to look at the man. If you were any less lucky, it could’ve been you.

“It’s the right thing to do,” he said, and you finally looked over to meet his gaze. His hazel eyes were sad, but your heart melted at the sight of them. Even in the thick of things, even after everything he’d been through, Sam was still trying to do the right thing.

After a second, you nodded. “We can take him and anyone else we might find out back when we’re finished, but I don’t want to do anything until the last minute. If the demons see it, it could ruin our chances at getting everything we need. I don’t want to put Dean and Cas in any more danger than they already are.”

Sam nodded in agreement and the two of you headed towards the last corner of the store. There were only a few more useful things there, but you were thankful for the things you did find. By the time you were back by the hunter’s decomposing body, the food you’d gathered would keep the three of you fed for at least another two weeks if you rationed it carefully. Cas still didn’t need to eat, and you were thankful for that, too.

“Let’s do this quickly,” you told Sam as you pulled over a flattened cardboard box. He nodded in agreement and helped you roll the dead man’s body onto the cardboard, moving to do it by himself when you turned away gagging. 

“I’ve got it,” he said, shaking his head when you tried to help him again. “Let me do this.”

You watched Sam move in silence, and after a moment you realized that helping the man wasn’t just something he was doing because he was a good man. He  _ needed _ to help the man for his own sake. If Sam wasn’t able to help people by protecting them when they were alive, then he probably figured that the least he could do was try and protect them and the people around them after they were dead.

It only took Sam another fifteen minutes to get a pyre built and the man’s body ready to be burned. He’d used up a stack of discarded cardboard boxes and a few wooden pallets in the process, then siphoned out the last of the gas in the tanks of the three rusting cars parked nearby. There’d been enough gas to cover the pyre and the hunter’s body, leaving you and Sam with a few gallon containers to bring back for the Impala. They’d slow you down, but it would be worth it.

You stood nearby and watched in silence, listening for anything that might be coming your way. As he worked, you found yourself wondering. How many pyres had Sam had to build? How many of them had been by himself, and how many of them had been with Dean at his side? How many of them would you have to watch?

“Are you ready?”

You blinked, pulled out of your thoughts by the sound of Sam’s voice, and then nodded. Sam nodded back at you and finished emptying one of the two containers of salt you’d found in the store, then pulled out his lighter. 

“They’ll come running once they see the smoke, so we’ll need to head to where Dean parked. North, right?”

Nodding, you stood from the stack of pallets you’d been sitting on and dusted off the back of your jeans. Sam lit the pyre and tucked the lighter away, and the two of you took off.

The town was heavily wooded, and you grabbed Sam’s hand to pull him behind some overgrown bushes when you saw a demon exit one of the buildings down the street. Your heart was pounding in your chest as he passed by you, his black eyes on full display.

_ I suppose it doesn’t matter now who sees him, _ you thought as you watched him disappear into an alleyway half a mile away.  _ There’s nobody who’d willingly try to kill demons, except hunters, and we’re considered easy prey nowadays. _ You shuddered at the memory of what had happened to you, and Sam squeezed your hand.

Sam stood, whispering into your ear as you followed his lead. “We’re almost there. It’s okay. You’re okay, Y/N.”

You nodded and started running again, Sam keeping pace alongside you. The two of you reached the car only minutes later, and you caught your breath as Sam dug the extra key out of his pocket and unlocked the doors.

Once you were safely inside, Sam pulled out his phone and sent Dean a text explaining where you were and that he shouldn’t go looking for gas for the Impala on his way back, like he normally did. You started to dig through the bag of stuff he’d gathered, and you were in the process of pulling out one of the granola bars when Sam leaned over and kissed your cheek.

“What was that for?” you asked, smiling over at him.

“You saved my life,” Sam replied. “Again.” He took the bag from your lap and set it on the floor by your feet, then pulled you to straddle his lap.

“Sam…”

“Just listen to me,” he interrupted, shaking his head and grabbing your hands when you tried to move. “I’d be dead ten times over by now if it weren’t for you. I know I joke sometimes about you being the big bad hunter, but you’re really more like a…”

“Knight in shining armor?” you supplied. Sam gave you a doubtful look and you grinned. “Well I figured if we’re sticking with fairy tale tropes…”

He chuckled. “Fine, you can be my knight in shining armor, if that’s what makes you happy.”

“Would that make you the damsel in distress?”

Sam groaned and you laughed, leaning in to kiss him as the front doors of the Impala opened and Dean and Cas climber inside. 

“Hey, knock it off back there,” Dean grumbled, and you grinned against Sam’s lips.

“We can continue this when we get home,” you murmured.

Sam nodded in agreement, squeezing your thighs and letting your slide off onto the seat. “Did you get what we needed?” he asked.

“Yes,” Cas answered as Dean put the car into gear and headed towards the backroad you’d taken into town. “They had all the ingredients we need to complete the spell, in addition to a few others that are good to have on hand.”

“And the man?” you asked, watching him nervously.

Cas nodded. “He’s okay. He wasn’t harmed.”

You exhaled and leaned into Sam again, giving him a relieved smile when you looked up and met his eyes. “Good. That’s good.”

The Impala went over a bump, breaking your locked gaze just as Sam wrapped his arm around your shoulders. When you tilted your head forward again, Dean was watching you in the rearview mirror.

“And you guys made it out okay?” he asked.

Nodding, you replied, “We got a good amount of stuff, and some gas too. It’s in the trunk. We ran into some kind of demonic snake or something, though, and we found a hunter…” You trailed off, thinking about the man you’d burned. You hadn’t recognized him, but you hadn’t been a hunter for long. Had Sam recognized him?

“A hunter?”

Sam gave your shoulders a slight squeeze. “He was dead—had been for a long time. We gave him a hunter’s funeral out back before making a run for it.”

The car fell silent until finally Dean nodded in approval. “Good.”

You didn’t say anything more, choosing instead to watch out the window and lean against Sam. After some time, he kissed the top of your head and you smiled in response, but you remained quiet until the Impala was pulling back into the bunker’s garage hours later.

“I think I’m gonna take a shower and go to bed,” you said as the two of you climbed out of the backseat.

Sam grabbed your hand before you could go too far, frowning. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Sam. I just…” You glanced over at Dean and Cas to make sure they weren’t listening. They were already heading inside through the door that led into the hall, so you exhaled heavily and shook your head a little. “I can’t stop thinking about that hunter, and about funerals. I mean… You’ve been through so much, and I haven’t been hunting that long…”

His eyebrows furrowed. “What are you trying to say?”

“What if I can’t keep you safe, Sam?” you asked after a second. “What if someday it’s you that we’re salting and burning? Or me, or Dean, or Cas? I mean, if we’re all gone, who’s gonna keep you safe?”

Sam sighed heavily and looked away. “Y/N…”

“Sam, as much as I love being your knight in shining armor and all that, we need to have this conversation,” you insisted, watching him.

He shook his head. “Not now, Y/N. Please. Right now I just want to take a long hot shower and go to bed with you. We’re safe here in the bunker, and we have food and water and everything we need.”

“For now.”

“For now,” Sam agreed. “So let’s just take the rest of the night to relax and be thankful that we’re both home safe. Please?”

After a moment, you relented. “Okay. But tomorrow we talk about it. Deal?”

“Deal. Can we go inside now?”

You nodded, and Sam took your hand to lead you inside. You let him guide you along in silence, trying to soothe away your worried thoughts. By the time you managed to think about something else, Sam was already in the shower and you were sitting alone in the bedroom, your pajamas on the bed next to you. 

“Sam?” you asked, knocking on the bathroom door. He didn’t answer and you pushed the door open, smiling slightly when you heard him half-singing, half-mumbling over the sound of the water.

Silently, you slipped out of your clothes and climbed into the shower. Sam paused when he saw you.

“I’m glad you’re safe,” you said after a moment, meeting his eyes and blinking as you tried to see through the steam.

“I’m glad you’re safe, too,” Sam answered.

He held your gaze in silence, waiting for you to make the next move. You watched him for a moment longer, then reached for the bottle of shampoo he’d picked up from the Walmart only hours before.

“You want me to do it for you?” he asked, and you nodded in response, not trusting yourself to speak. If you did, you might cry.

Sam nodded and gently turned you so your back was to him, then began to gently lather the shampoo into your hair. Closing your eyes, you relished the sensation and the quiet comfort Sam was giving you. He was your home, and now that he was home safe again, the two of you could figure out what happened next.

“I love you,” you murmured after you’d rinsed the suds from your hair. “I love you, Sam Winchester, and I think I would’ve fallen for you regardless if we were soulmates or not.”

Smiling slightly, Sam reached for you and pulled you close, wrapping his arms around you. His skin was hot from the water and you closed your eyes again, happy to be back where you belonged.


End file.
